Game. Set. Match.

Tennis is the only sport I really love. I am working on “loving” running, but so far, I find it kind of torturous, even though I have done two half marathons and after my knee surgery (coming up on April 21 – you can read about it then) I will start training again for additional half marathons and, ultimately (November 2012, hopefully) the New York City Marathon (yes, that is 26.2 miles). I still don’t love it, but when I finished those two races in January, I really felt like I accomplished something big. Especially since I come from a long line of people who are not remotely athletic. But I do love tennis.

It is a great sport. Although I am not particularly good at it – my serve kind of sucks, although it is getting better, but my down-the-line backhand is pretty awesome – it is still fun. I can be found playing at Bayview Park nearly every Saturday and Sunday morning.

Not only is it fun to play, but the clothes are outstanding. And unlike

running, you get to take a break after every odd game. A little chatting, a cold beverage… it’s all good. Plus, it is even fun to watch on TV, which is more than I can say for baseball, hockey, and yes, running. Have you ever watched marathon coverage? With the exception of New York and all of the feel-good stories (like the woman broadcasting while running, with a prosthetic leg), it is a pretty darn boring sport to watch.

Last week, I met up with some of the Bayview crowd at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami. Although we got tickets to the stadium, there was no chance that I would be sitting in 400-level seats, squinting to try and see the ball. Instead we went to some outside courts, as well as the grandstand to watch the matches going on there.

I saw Rafael Nadal warming up, as well as Victoria Azarenka, Vera Zvonareva and Dominika Cibulkova (I like her because she is 5’3″… it makes it seem possible that one day I would be able to whack the crap out of the ball, too. Unlikely, but possible.) I saw a Canadian kid, Milos Raonic, that my friends were all excited about. They are Canadian, too. I saw Roger Federer hurry past, surrounded by a team of security. Sadly, that was the extent of my contact with him. I watched a couple of points of the Gisela Dulko/Elena Vesnina match until it was too horrible – really bad playing there – and moved over to the grandstand to watch Ivan Lubicic play Paolo Lorenzi, and ultimately lose.

All in all, it was a beautiful day. If only I had remembered to bring sunscreen. The Lindt booth supplied us with many free chocolates, and a good time was had by all. Although not as cozy as the old BMW tournament at Sunrise Tennis Center was, it is an excellent way to spend the day watching some good (and bad) tennis. I loved every minute of it.